30 THE COCONUT BELT 



adopted in certain other countries, whose copra is 

 often rank, pungent, and mouldy, even before ship- 

 ment. Having then to run the gauntlet of ships' 

 vermin, " sweating," and other unavoidable draw- 

 backs, it can readily be understood that large quan- 

 tities have to be discarded as unfit for use. At 

 present, however, increasing competition, the enter- 

 prise of European experts and the high prices 

 secured by superior qualities are stimulating 

 planters and merchants in most regions to emulate 

 the example of Malabar by devoting greater atten- 

 tion to the preparation of the product. While the 

 exceptional natural advantages enjoyed by Malabar 

 have resulted in the yield of such superior products, 

 the value of the district as a coconut-growing region 

 is further enhanced by the fact that although the 

 Malabar territory is vast, there is only a certain 

 portion of the land that possesses these natural 

 advantages, so that companies holding land in the 

 most favoured regions must inevitably see their 

 properties increase in value from year to year. 



CEYLON 



This is another important centre for coconut- 

 growing, it being estimated that about 2,200,000,000 

 nuts are harvested in that island every year. At 

 present there are some 929,000 acres of land under 



